Ignition device for internal-combustion engines



Sept-4, 1923'. 1,467,269

I A. ERICKSON IGNITION DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 21 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 o E & a

Sept. 4, 1923. 1,467.269 A. ERICKSVON IGNITION DEVICE FOE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed J 21 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm g Sept. 4, 1923.

' A. ERICKSON Filed July 21 1919 --Mll I an E 1'4 "mum ALMW Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

UNITED STATES earenrfjorrica.

ALBERT ERICKSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A$SIGNOR TO .SPLITDORF ELECTRICAL COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION. OF JERSEY.

IGNITION DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-GOMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed July 21, 1919. Serial No. 312,228.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT ERIGKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ignition Devices for Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following isa description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in ignition devices, and more particularly toan ignitiondevice having a fixed and a movable electrode to which current is supplied by a magneto generator.

An object-of the invention is to provide an ignition device of the above character, wherein the trip lever for placing the actuating spring under compression and releasing the same is mounted directly onthe armature shaft of the magneto, and wherein the magneto is removably mounted on a bracket attached to the engine cylinder.

A further object of the invention is to character, wherein the main actuating spring for the trip lever encirclesand is.

newed or replaced without requiring changes or alterations in any way in the other bracket.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an ignition device of the above character, wherein the bracketcarrying the magneto generator is provided with a terminal having yielding means forming an.

electrical connection with the electrode.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully described.

stationary provide an ignition device of the above In the drawings: which show byway of illustration one embodiment of the invention v Figure .l is a view showing more or less diagrammatically, theengine cylinder and the bracket connected thereto which sup ports the fixed and movable electrodes;

Figure 2 isan end view of theother bracket with the magneto generator mounted thereon;

Figure 3 is afvertical section through the ignition device, showing the parts attached to an engine cylinder; h s

Figure at 1s a horizontal sectional view of the same on the l1ne H; r

vFigure 5 is a detail showing one of the locking pins for holding .the' bearing for the armatureshaft in place.

The invention consistsxbroadly in an ignition device for internal combustion engines, which includesa generator having an armature which is adapted to be 0sclllated in a magnetic field for producing a current for furnishing the ignition spark.

Mounted in the frame of the magneto generator is a bearing in which one end of the armature shaft is journaled and saidshaft extends beyond the bearing and a trip lever is mounted rigidly ontheend of said shaft.- Thebearing is extended in sleeve form and the main springg is wound about sald bear1ng,,one end of the spring being,

attached to thebearingand the other end to the trip lever, so that when the trip lever is. moved bythe usual push rod, the main spring will be put undertension .and upon the; release of thetrip lever said spring will rotate the armature shaft for generating the current for ignition purposes. This magnetogenerator is mounted'on a bracket which is separate and independent from'the bracket which carriesthe fixed and movable electrodes, although the two-brackets are secured'to the engine cylinder. by oneand the same means. Positioning' studs are'p ro: vided to assist in the positioning of one bracket relative'to the-other when on. the

engine; The fixed and the movable electrodes.

are mounted in the bracket attached directly.

to the engine, cylinderand the movable electrode is held seated by. means of a small coil spring encircling the same which also serves to close the electrodes This spring is normally of greater tension than the ten sion of the main spring, so that when the parts are in normal position the electrodes are closed. \Vhen the trip lever is released the armature is oscillated by the main spring and'said trip lever will be caused to strike a cam arm fixed to the movable electrode and separate said electrodes.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, my improved ignition device consists of a fixed electrode 1 and a movable electrode 2. These electrodes are provided with the usual contact points. The fixed and the movable electrodes are mounted in a bracket 3 having a tapered extension 4: adapted to fit a tapered'opening in the wall of the engine cylinder, which is indicated at C in the drawings. The movable electrode 2 is carried by aishaft 5 which is journaled in a bearing and on the outer end of said shaft is an arm 6 which is formed with a cam face 7 see Figure 1. Encircling the shaft between the arm and the bracket 3 is a coil spring 7, one end of which is attached to a pin 8 mounted in the bracket, and the other end of which is attached to the arm 6. This coil spring serves the double function of holding the movable electrode seated in the bracket 3 and also of rotating the shaft '5,

so as to cause the ignition points of the electrodes to be closed. The fixed electrode 1 is carried'loy a rod 9, which extends through the bracket and has a nut 10 threaded thereon; Rigidly carried by the engine cylinder is a stud 11 which extends through the bracket' 3 and serves as a means for holding the bracket rigidly on the engine cylinder.

Associated with the fixed and movable at G in the drawings. Said generator is provided with abase or magneto frame 12. Mounted on this frame is a magnet 13 forming a magnetic field. An armature 13 is mounted to oscillate in said magnetic field; Said armature includes a shaft 14. This shaft at its outer end is journaled in a. bearing 15 formed as a part of the frame and at its inner end in a removable bearing 16. This removable bearing 16 is provided with an extended sleeve 17. Said bearing 16 fits within the frame and is held in position in the frame by pins, one of which is indicated at 18 in Figure 5 of the drawings. Said pin 18 is adapted to register with a recess 19 in the sideface of the bearing 16 and the two pins not onlyhold the hearing from endwise' movement but also hold the bearing from circular movement in the frame of the magneto. Mounted on the extreme inner end plate.

to positively disconnect the trip lever from the shoulder 21. Said trip lever is also provided with a handle 23, by means of which the trip lever may be actuated by hand, for producing a spark, when desired. Said trip lever is further provided with a cam shoulder 24: which is adapted to engagethe cam shoulder 7 carried by the arm 6 attached to the outer end of the shaft supporting the movable electrode. The main spring 25 encircles the sleeve 17 and at one end is connected to a pin 26 carried by the bearing 16, and at itsotherend is connected to a pin 27 mounted in the trip lever. This spring serves as the main spring for actuating the armature and also for separating the elec trodes. The coil spring 7 is of greater tension than the main spring 25, when the parts are in normal positionthat is, at rest, and, therefore, the movable electrode will beheld in engagement with the fixed electrode.

In ope-ration the push rod engaging the shoulder 21 moves the trip lever so as to put the main spring under compression and at a predetermined point said trip lever is released, then the spring actuates the armature and the cam shoulder 24 carried thereby will strike the cam shoulder 7 carried by the arm fixed to the movable electrode and move said movable electrode so as to separate the contacts and produce a spark. This occurs, of course, at the time when the armature is at its maximum current generating position. The magneto G is removably mounted on a bracket 28. Said bracket 28 has an outwardly projecting shelf and the generator is bolted thereto by suitable bolts 29. Said bracket, as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, is provided with a vertical section 30, having a face portion 31, which is milled to fit the front face of the bracket 3 and said vertical section 30 has an opening 32 which fits over the stud 11 threaded into the engine cylinder, and a nut 33 on the end of the stud clamps the bracket section 30 against the face of the bracket 3 and the bracket 3 against the face of the engine cylinder. The bracket 3 is formed with similar positioning studs 3st, which are adapted to engage suitable openings 35 formed in the face portion 31 of the bracket section 30. These positioning studs serve to position one bracket relative to the other and assist in preventing the brackets from turning one relative to the other when on the engine.

Mounted in the bracket section 30 is a short bolt 36, which is connected to the terminal' wire 37 of the magneto generator. At the inner end the bolt 36 is formed with a recessed head 38 inwhich is placed a spring 39, and said spring bears against a plate 40 which is forced outwardly by said spring. The recessed head overlies the plate and limits the outward movement of the The fixed electrode rod 9 is of such length as to bear against this plate 40, compressing the spring underneath the same and thus insuring a suitable electrical connection between the terminal 37 and the fixed'electrode. This fixed electrode is suitably insulated and the movable electrode i grounded, thus forming a return circuit to the grounded terminal of the magneto.

By making the supporting means for the magneto generator and the electrodes inde-- pendent-that is, by using two brackets, it will readily be seen that the electrode bracket may be renewed without renewing the bracket on which the magneto generator is mounted. Furthermore, if the magneto generator bracket becomes broken it may be readily renewed without renewing the bracket for the electrodes.

It will be noted that my improved ignition device is of comparatively few parts, which are compactly arranged, thus producing a very simple device, and said device is free from all adjustments, so that it is impossible for the parts to get out of timing or synchronism.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an ignition device, a fixed and a movable electrode, a magneto generator having a shaft carrying a current generating member, bearings in which said shaft is mounted, one of said bearings including a projecting sleeve, a coil spring encircling said projecting sleeve, an arm on said shaft to which one end of said coil spring is connected, means for placing said spring under compression and means on the arm itself for releasing the same for actuating the shaft, and means actuated by said spring for separating said electrodes at the time of maximum current generation in said magneto.

2. In an ignition device, a fixed and a movable electrode, a magneto generator having a shaft carrying a current generating member, a removable bearing for one end of said shaft, a sleeve carried by said removable bearing, a coil spring encircling said shaft and connected at one end to said bearing and at its other end to the shaft, which spring is adapted to be put under compression and released for actuating the current generating member, and means for removably securing said bearing in the frame of the magneto generator.

In an ignition device, a fixed and a movable electrode, a magneto generator having a shaft carrying a current generating member, a removable bearing for one end of said shaft, a sleeve carried by said removable bearing, a coil spring encircling said shaft and connected at one end to said bearing and at its other end to the shaft, which spring is adapted to be put under compression and released for actuating the current generating member, and means for removably securing said bearing in the frame of the magneto generator, said means including pins engaging recesses in the bearing for holding the bearing from endwise movement and from circular movement.

' 4. In an ignition device, a fixed and a movable electrode, a magneto generator having a shaft carrying a current generating member, a removable bearing forone end of said shaft, a sleeve carried by said removable bearing, a coil spring encircling said shaft and connected at one end to said bearing and at its other end to the shaft, which spring is adapted to be put under compression and released for actuating the current. generating member, means for removably securing said bearing in the frame of the magneto generator, a trip lever on the end of said shaft, a cam projection carried by said trip lever, a shaft carrying the movable electrode, a spring for turning said shaft carrying the movable electrode for norm-ally holding the electrodes in contact, said shaft having an arm adapted to be engaged by the trip lever when moved by the main spring, so that said electrodes will be separated in timing with the maximum current generation.

5. In an ignition device, a fixed and a movable electrode, a bracket in which said electrodes are mounted, a magneto generator, a bracket on which said magneto generator is mounted, means for securing the magneto generator bracket to the bracket carrying the movable electrode and said bracket carrying the movable electrode to the engine cylinder, one of said brackets having POSI', tioning pins adapted to engage recesses formed in the other bracket.

6. In an ignition device, the combination v of a bracket, a fixed and a movable electrode mounted therein, a second bracket, a magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, a main spring surrounding the shaft of the magneto generator and a trip lever for said magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, means whereby said trip lever operates to separate the electrodes, and common means for securing the two brackets together and against the engine cylinder.

7 In an ignition device, the combination of a bracket, a fixed and a movable electrode mounted therein, a second bracket, a magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, a main spring surrounding the shaft of the magneto generator and a trip lever for said magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, means whereby said trip lever operates to separate the electrodes, common means for securing the two brackets together and against the engine cylinder, and positioning pins carried by one of said brackets and adapted to engage recesses in the other bracket.

8. In an ignition device, the combination of a bracket, a lined and a movable electrode mounted therein, a second bracket, a magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, a main spring surrounding the shaft of the magneto generator and a trip lever for said magneto generator mounted on said second bracket, means whereby said trip lever operates to separate the electrodes, and a yielding terminal connection carried by the bracket supporting the magneto and adapted to engage'theend of the rod'sup-- porting the fixed electrode.

9. An ignition device, a bracket, a movable and a fixed electrode mounted in the bracket, a spring carried by the bracket, a spring carried by the bracket normally holding-the electrodes closed, a second bracket, a magneto generator mounted thereon, a spring surrounding the shaft of the magneto generator and adapted to'be com-pressed andreleased tor actuating the armature of the magneto generator and having means for separating the electrodes, a yicl. ing terminal carried by the bracket sup porting the magneto generator and adapted to engage a rod carrying the fixed electrode.

In testimony-whereof, I Eti'fiX my signature.

ALBERT ERICKSON. 

